Angela Easterling to play in Whippany on Sept. 27

Growing up in South Carolina, Angela Easterling was not a fan of country music. She loved Broadway tunes, folk and rock. But country was not her radar.

However, that changed when she started writing her own music. “People heard me and said, ‘Oh, you’re country,’ ” she says. “I’d say, ‘Who, me? I’m not country.’ ”

Nonetheless, in an ironic twist that could have come from one of her own songs, Easterling has found herself labeled – and praised – as a country artist.

For example, Roger McGuinn favorably compared her songs to the country music he recorded as a member of the Byrds on the “Sweetheart of the Rodeo” album.

Easterling says she now accepts the fact she is, and probably always will be, a country artist. “It’s one of the things that makes me different from a folk singer,” she says. “If I get rid of the country, I lose who Angela is.”

“I’m not aiming for Top 40 country,” Easterling adds. “I’m more in the country roots or Americana vein.”

She says she is pleased to see more people accepting that type of music, as evinced by the commercial success of artists such as Jason Isbell.

She recently released her fifth CD of story-songs, “Common Law Wife.” Easterling will play the Splatter Concert series at the Ukrainian American Cultural Center in Whippany this Sunday, Sept. 27.

Easterling (who will be backed by her longtime guitarist, Brandon Turner) has played the center several times in the past six years.

“It’s a great venue,” she says. “It’s a nice size. It’s a wonderful place to put on a concert.”

The songs from “Common Law Wife” lend themselves well to the duo format, according to Easterling. “For this album, we went for something a little more stripped down, something that sounds a little more like me live,” she says.

Easterling says the relatively unplugged approach is a reaction to her previous albums, such as the 2009 CD “BlackTop Road.” “Some of those albums have everything and the kitchen sink, which is fine to do sometimes,” she says.

“I can get out of hand with production,” she adds. “In Nashville, there are so many great musicians that it’s tempting to throw everything in the mix.”

At the same time, “Common Law Wife” still reflects her primary concerns as a songwriter: history, social causes, and her personal life.

She points to the song “Isaac Woodard’s Eyes,” based on the true story of an African-American soldier who came home from World War II but was beaten and blinded by police officers.

That song was written more than a year ago, but she says it feels even timelier because of the news of the past year, including the church shooting this past June in her home state of South Carolina.

“I was shocked and horrified by what happened,” she says. “I never thought anything like that would happen in my lifetime. We pride ourselves in South Carolina that we’re not like other states in the South.”

Still, Easterling does take pride in her family history. She lives on the 80-acre farm in upstate South Carolina that has been in her family since 1791.

“I’m the ninth generation to live here, and my son (Harrison, age 2) is the 10th generation,” she says. “This is still a working farm. A few years ago, this became the fastest growing area of the state, and now we’re right in the middle of a bustling suburb.”

A fight with local authorities over attempts to break up the farm led Easterling to write her song “Black Top Road.” “That’s a really personal song to me, but so many people have told me that it means something to them, too,” she says.

That is not unusual, Easterling adds. “The more personal and specific you area, the more people seem to relate to you. I think the fact that I write as a woman in the modern world has something to do with it.”

Motherhood has forced Easterling to cut back on live shows, but she accepts that. “I love being on the road,” she says. “I haven’t been able to tour as much because of Harrison, but that’s the trade-off. It’s a juggling act, but it’s a fun juggling act.”

ANGELA EASTERLING

WHAT: The country-influenced singer-songwriter draws inspiration for her story-songs from history and social causes. Easterling lives on the 80-acre property in South Carolina that has been in her family for nine generations.

WHEN: 7 p.m. Sunday. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

WHERE: Ukrainian American Cultural Center, 60 N. Jefferson Road, Whippany

TICKETS: $25, $5 for ages 13 to 17, free for ages 12 and under.

INFO: 973-585-7175 or www.splatterconcerts.com.